Coffee – the good and the bad…

Coffee has been a topic of discussions for a long time, especially its effect on health. Long time coffee was blamed for many illnesses – from growing problems to heart problems and cancer. Recent research however finds that coffee is not that bad for your health. So now we are a bit confused here: is coffee good or bad? Well, for most people the benefits are stronger than the risks.

There is no connection between drinking coffee and a bigger chance to get cancer or heart problems according to recent studies. It is even the other way around; drinking coffee decreases the overall mortality and possibly the deaths with a cardiovascular cause. This is perhaps not true for younger people who take in large amounts of coffee daily.

How come we now think completely different about the risks of coffee? Studies in the earlier years did not take into account that heavy coffee drinkers tend to be behaving at a high risk level when it comes to smoking and hardly any physical activity as well. And the total combination did not look too good.
Recent results of studies show that coffee may well have some health benefits, like protection against Parkinson’s disease, diabetes type 2 and liver diseases, liver cancer included. Drinking coffee also improves the cognitive function and lowers the risk of depressions, it seems.

There are some risks as well, the research shows. Those who drink large amounts of unfiltered coffee – either boiled or espresso – could get a mildly higher cholesterol level. Another study showed drinking more than two cups of coffee daily may increase chances of a heart disease in people who have a genetic mutation that is slowing down the process of breaking down the coffee in the body – a mutation that is rather common by the way. So the speed of you metabolising coffee ‘calculates’ the risk.

Coffee may have more benefits than risks, but remember to vary your drinks. Other drinks have nutrients coffee doesn’t have, such as milk and fruit juices. And also keep in mind by adding sugar and cream to your coffee you add more fat and calories to your body. Did you know that some coffee beverages contain over 500 calories?